Here are some things that you may want to know about this course, as you make your decision

1. The TCM certificate is recognised by the TCM practicioner's board in Singapore, you will have to sit for an examination at the end of 5 years and you will be able to practise if you pass the exam. The TCMPB is here. And if you want to see where you qualify, its under section C(i) currently. The first batch had just graduated in 2010 and the passing rate for the TCMPB exam was 97%.

2. The workload is heavy. You can look at the curriculum here (although I guess you have already done so). In fact you can take a look at the timetables on the website for a clue.

3. TCM is not Conventional Medicine as we know it, but the topic on its own is very intriguing and it has 5000 years of efficacy, with its earliest medical records dating back to 481BC. It is a medical science in its own right.

4. There are a number of scholarships for the course, apart from the local ones which cover the first 3 years in singapore, you can obtain scholarships for your final 2 years in china from a number of organisations (e.g Eu Yan Sang, Thong Chai Medical, BUCM-State sponsored etc).

5. The international industry is growing rapidly, and there are research facilities globally (Germany is the world leader in accupuncture research; Korea and Japan are the main leaders in herbal research; there are alternative medicine centres in the US; Macua officially gained approval for its own research facility in 2010 etc). Physician/researchers with good communication skills in at least english and mandarin are in high demand in the field all over the world.

6. If you look at the industry merely locally, the recent news reports seem to suggest an increase in the number of people going to see tcm physicians annually.

7. Your degree is recognised by other Universities and employers, there are graduates who have been offered non-tcm biomedical science/medical courses for postgraduate study.

8. The TCM portion is taught in mandarin while the Biomedicine portion in english, some modules are taught in both languages even. But there is a gradual build up year by year so that your mandarin ability improves as you advance.

So people will end up being really disgruntled in the course while others will love it, but this happens in any field. If you are interested in the course, do try and go down to the tea-session and find out more when it comes around.

DR ANDY Ho wrote that he was disappointed with the local medical profession for not warning the public about the dangers of chiropractic neck manipulation ("Perils of chiropractic neck manipulation"; Jan 21) and criticised homeopathy ("Indefensible ideas behind homeopathy"; Jan 22).

His scathing commentary on acupuncture criticises the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) for suggesting that the ethical code of the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) be amended to allow medical practitioners to refer to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners and acupuncturists ("Pinning down acupuncture: It's a placebo"; Saturday).

While Western-trained doctors do warn their patients about the risk and safety profile of what they prescribe and voice their opinions on various kinds of alternative medicine to their patients, it is another thing to advocate that the local medical profession collectively criticise alternative medicine groups.

This is especially so when doctors and alternative medicine practitioners are seen to be competitors and criticising alternative medicine can be construed as self-serving.

Dr Ho's column on Saturday failed to take SMA's proposal to amend the SMC ethical code in context. When the current code was introduced, TCM practitioners and acupuncturists were not state-registered. They are now.

We do not think doctors will refer widely to TCM practitioners even if the code is amended. However, patients do request from their doctors medical reports and summaries when they seek care from TCM practitioners. The present code disallows such formal communication. Amending the code will facilitate better communication between a patient's various caregivers so that the patient's interest is best served.

The SMA does not encourage its members to refer to alternative medicine practitioners. But we have to be realistic. They exist and are here to stay. Most public hospitals already offer acupuncture services. Several have TCM clinics on their premises.

Continuing this "iron curtain" of no formal communication between doctors and alternative medicine practitioners is impractical and anachronistic.

Finally, many alternative medicine forms are steeped in cultural and religious beliefs, such as TCM and ayurvedic medicine.

From the perspective of safeguarding social cohesion in Singapore, getting the local medical profession to collectively criticise various alternative medicine modalities is unwise.

In Singapore's social context, journalists should not try to pit one group of caregivers against another. It is best for an impartial and respected body such as the Government to step forward to decide what is safe and unsafe for patients.

do go ahead and apply for the course since you are interested, it's eventually based on the applicant pool for the year but you won't know if you don't try Feel free to PM if you need

@Pacman,

I'm not sure if you would agree if I use this quote from Arthur Schopenhaur, "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

On Dr Andy Ho's point, Prof Brian Breman from University of Maryland was in Singapore a couple of weeks ago and gave a talk, you can find a report on TODAY. But proper research methodology is a problem. "The Web that has no Weaver" by Dr Ted Kaptchuk from Harvard explains that as important as research now is research on the research.

There are research findings that show that accupuncture does affect neuro-activity, one was done by Dr Diarra Boubacar in 1991. The paper is written in Mandarin, which means that it tends to go unnoticed in the scientific community. Where there are specialist who have a better working knowledge (as above), you'd see that they are not as immediately critical of it.

Just because we cannot render things in modern science yet, doesn't mean we should reject it, neither is our lack of understanding of it sufficient reason to abjure it. We cannot prove if it is truth, but that should not stop us from finding out if it is should it?

SMA does not claim infallability, and a lack of encouragement is not the same as active discouragement. The point that seems to matter seems not to be the lack of encouragement but the proper establishment of formal relations(and from there, hopefully, more development).

I got A in H2 Bio and Econs, B for H2 Chem, C in H2 Maths, B for Gp and PW, A in H1 Chinese. A2 in O level Chinese and took higher chinese in primary school but failed that. Should I consider applying? I'm not too sure whether my chinese is good enough. But overall my grades and uas are good enough right? (83.25 including chinese)

You should apply for it, don't worry so much about the UAS score because frankly no one knows what it is, and it varies from year to year.

Don't worry about mandarin ability, you'll be surprised at the number of us more conversant in english rather than mandarin And don't forget, there are guys who had not studied mandarin for around 4-5 years before school started. There is a gradual build up of chinese medicine mods (in the revised curriculum the BSx1xx, which are conducted in mandarin) from Year 1 to Year 3 starting with 1 mod in Year 1 Sem 1. Your mandarin ability will improve with time.

Dear prospective juniors, although we (the seniors) have answered to your queries here, you might want to consider dropping by NTU/NUS open house this coming Saturday and Sunday to speak directly to faculty staff and us face-to-face to get a couple more information, especially if after all the extra reading up and getting confused over the curriculum or procedures etc. Cheers,

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Currently teaching H1 & H2 Biology in a JC|PGDE(JC) (Distinction), 2013 (NTU, NIE)|B.Sc. in Biological Sciences (Hons), 2012 (NTU)All comments/advice given are based on personal experience/account. Always check with your faculty/school/organisation for more information.